Study points to emissions-free production of hydrogen fuel

Researchers at Virginia Tech have developed technology to produce hydrogen from plant sugar xylose, potentially paving the way for an environmentally friendly way of making hydrogen fuel from any biomass. "Our new process could help end our dependence on fossil fuels," said Y.H. Percival Zhang, a professor of biological systems engineering at Virginia Tech. Most commercially available hydrogen fuel is made from natural gas using a costly process that releases a vast amount of pollutants into the air, researchers said.